Similar Surfaces, Differing Depths

Scripture:  I Kings 3:14,16 - And if thou wilt walk in my ways, to keep my statutes and my commandments, as thy father David did walk, then I will lengthen thy days... Then came there two women, that were harlots, unto the king, and stood before him.

They are both women, and in that they are similar.  They are of child-bearing years, again similar.  They are both mothers of infant sons, similar again. They are of the same time, and space. They share the same country, the same community, the same king, and the same home. They share the same reputation... 'Zahnah', translated 'harlot'. Similar, maybe.
Sometimes nothing short of a severe pinch will reveal the nature of a thing, beyond the apparent.  Sometimes a greater gain abides beyond [or within] life's angst.

"And the one woman said, 'O my lord, I and this woman dwell in one house; and I was delivered of a child  with her in the house. And it came to pass the third day after that I was delivered that this woman was delivered also: and we were together; there was no stranger with us in the house, save we two in the house. And this woman's child died in the night because she overlaid it. And she arose at midnight and took my son from beside me, while thine handmaid slept, and laid it in her bosom, and laid her dead child in my bosom. And when I rose in the morning to give my child suck, behold, it was dead: but when I had considered it in the morning, behold, it was not my son which I did bear. And the other woman said,'Nay! But the living is my son, and the dead is thy son. And this said 'No! But the dead is thy son, and the living mine.' Thus they spake before the king.
And the king said,'Bring me a sword.' And they brought a sword before the king. And the king said,'Divide the living child in two, and give half to the one, and half to the other.'" (1 Kings3:17-25)

Humanity's reach can boast quite a range, and motherhood often can offer us the example of our very best selves, and the most opposite of that. When we let God be God in our circumstances, godliness can shine through in unexpected ways. Solomon was a participant in this, and a witness of this, by which he was revered as wise.
"...All Israel heard of the judgement which the king had judged; and they feared the king: for they saw that the wisdom of God was in him, to do judgement." (I Kings 3:28)

But there was another judgement worth celebrating, not linked with a royal bloodline, or public awe, or formal consecration, just the self-sacrificing passion of a mother for her son,to say 'No' to the king, in the presence of his readied sword. She may have very well put her own life in jeopardy. This same risk taking would rather see the life of her child continue through another, than to see him killed. And while both mothers share many superficial characteristics, it is of the heart where they differ greatly, where eternity speaks.

"Then spoke the woman whose the living child was, unto the king, for her bowels yearned upon her son, and she said 'O my lord, give her the living child, and in no wise slay it.' But the other woman said 'Let it be neither mine nor thine, but divide it.' Then the king answered saying,'Give her the living child, and in no wise slay it: she is the mother thereof.'" (1 Kings3: 26-27 )
We all have those choices to make which may matter much, or not so much on the surface.  May the Lord quicken our gifts, and clarify for us our giving and our seeking. Bless God.
Prayer:  Dear Lord, help me with my yieldedness, that I may bless You, with a greater fruitfulness, where the love and the holiness that come of You, might show in me. Create in me a clean heart, and renew a right spirit in me. Thank You Jesus.  Amen.

(by Dr. McNeal Brockington)